Any suggestions?

bdave262000
bdave262000 Posts: 270
edited January 2011 in Commuting general
This is probably a how long is a piece of string question but here goes. I'm looking for suggestions / recommendations for a new bike. I currently commute between 50 - 75 miles a week on the road (hoping to push this up to 100 miles a week) and do a bit of off-road stuff but nothing serious. I'm a big lad (6ft3 / 18st ) and would be looking at straight rather than dropped handle bars, preferably a hard tail MTB. I currently ride a Trek 4300 and am looking to upgrade so have set a budget of £700, any suggestions would be appreciated.
Fat lads take longer to stop.

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    What is the nature of the off road use?
    If its only light trails then a flat barred Hybrid with suitable tyres may be a better bet than a hardtail MTB with front suspension, I regularly use a local roughish gravel strewn canal path on my commuter (16" slick tyred flat bar hybrid).

    If its harder trails then 2 bikes, one dedicated to each may be better, but a hardtail MTB is more than capable?

    At that budget you could get a Boardman which is pretty light and with lockout forks will make the road commute more tolerable. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • bdave262000
    bdave262000 Posts: 270
    What is the nature of the off road use?
    If its only light trails then a flat barred Hybrid with suitable tyres may be a better bet than a hardtail MTB with front suspension, I regularly use a local roughish gravel strewn canal path on my commuter (16" slick tyred flat bar hybrid).

    If its harder trails then 2 bikes, one dedicated to each may be better, but a hardtail MTB is more than capable?

    At that budget you could get a Boardman which is pretty light and with lockout forks will make the road commute more tolerable. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

    Simon

    My off-roading is mainly light trails although once in a while I will do something a bit more testing. I will probably get shot down for this but I'm not big on hybrid bikes and two bikes won't wash with the Mrs (lack of space).

    Thanks for the sugesstion of the Boardman this looks like a good option but I'm not sure if they come in a 21" frame.
    Fat lads take longer to stop.
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    There are plenty of hard tails available at your budget, but much down to personal preferance so a good bike shop isn't a bad place to start. If you give an idea of your location I'm sure some kind soul will be able to recommend one.

    If you don't mind going second hand (ebay etc.) you might get something a bit more exotic. I'm a fan of Thorn bikes http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/models.html. Which are well thought out and engineered so perhaps able to take a little more punishment than most.

    A single bike capable of both longish communting and off-roading might have to be a bit of a compromise.

    The research and hunting is half the fun.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Hybrids come in many flavours, for something a little funkier maybe the ZUM will float your boat
    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534
    26", MTB frame, but a distinct road flavour to it, in fact its alsmost the same spec as a friends Zaskar team and he frequantly runs that round Cannock.

    Some frames go with odd sizes, most stay with evens, so if you think you need a 21" try a 20" MTB, 22" is rare though Giant do some.

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

Categories